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COSBAE/CWAE Speaker Series & Luncheon

Sherece West
President/CEO, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

COSBAE/CWAE Speaker Series & Luncheon
Monday, July 26, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Sherece Y. West holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; a Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy; and a Bachelor of Arts from Bowie State University. She was a Fellow with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Policy Institutes and a 2003–04 Emerging Leaders Fellow—a joint program of Duke University and the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

She took the helm as President of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation in May of 2007. Since 1974, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation has supported programs and organizations that improve the quality of life for all Arkansans and that promote systemic change. West is nationally known for her leadership in the areas of community development, public policy, and, most recently, disaster recovery. West’s career path began at the Social Security Administration and wound its way through the Maryland Municipal League, the DC Department of Public Health, the Community Service Society of New York City, the Ford Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Her work at Casey led the Carrier Foundation to invite West to be its first President & CEO. The Carrier Foundation is dedicated to improving the life chances of disadvantaged children and families in the southwest region of Louisiana. Shortly after arriving there, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck, and after just two months on the job, West was asked to help lead the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, first as a loaned executive and subsequently as its Chief Executive Officer.

West is passionate about helping others, addressing the issues related to poverty, race and social justice; education; and community development. In addition to heading WRF, she currently serves on the boards of the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers for Children, Youth and Families, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy and the National Urban Fellows. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. West was a 2007 Telly Award Bronze Winner for her work as Executive Producer of Power in the People, a graduate of Leadership Arkansas Class II for 2007-08, and a current member of the Rotary Club of Little Rock and the Arkansas Women’s Leadership Forum. She was named to the Arkansas Business Journal Top 180 Power List in 2008 and 2009.